Thirty-One Days O’Horror: Wrecker (2015)

Let’s Ride #9!

2015’s Wrecker (also known as Driver From Hell) may or may not be a remake of 1971’s Duel, the directorial debut of Steven Spielberg. I can’t find any solid proof of this, however, as most people believe that it is either a ripoff or rehash of Spielberg’s film. A few reviewers accuse it of ripping off scenes and dialogue as well. I’ve never seen Duel, so I can’t confirm this claim. That said, Wrecker is just okay. It has many, many flaws, but I wasn’t completely bored while watching this movie.

The movie stars Anna Hutchison and Drea Whitburn as a couple of young ladies on a road trip who encounter a sinister tow truck driver on a lightly traveled highway. The tow truck driver taunts the duo, follows them, and tries to run them down over the course of the movie. We are never given a reason as to why the driver is after them, and I believe that this is intentional. The driver simply wants to kill and/or scare the girls because he enjoys it.

The film obviously had a low budget. A few of the driving scenes are used multiple times over the course of the film. The girls pass the same buildings on multiple occasions. In one particular chase sequence, you can see Hutchison talking to someone either on the phone or hidden in the car (perhaps a stunt coordinator). You can also tell that some of the scenes are sped up, as you can see Hutchison brushing her hair out of her face at a rapid pace. In the film’s climax, there is a sequence involving the tow truck hanging over a ledge. You can see a small town in the background. When the scene cuts away and then returns, the town is replaced by a quarry. These terrible edits and miscues make the film worse than it really is.

Wrecker isn’t a terrible movie. The actors are very good and the action does work at times. However, all of the poor edits and reused shots drag the film down and make it harder to watch. Do I recommend it? Sure, if you have a couple of hours to kill and are tired of watching slasher flicks.

Thanks for checking out my review. See you tomorrow.